Collapsible carton



1957 w. H. INMAN 2,804,256

COLLAPSIBLE CARTON Filed June 13, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IYIS ATTORNEY27, 57 w. H. INMAN 2,804,256

COLLAPSIBLE CARTON Filed June 13, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HIS ATTORNEYUnited States Patent 3O COLLAPSIBLE CARTON William H. lnman, Newark, N.Y., assignor to Bloomer Bros. Company, Newark, N. Y., a corporation ofNew York Application June 13, 1955, Serial No. 514,957 '8 Claims Cl.229-51 resulted in a'practical and'useful carton, which has been widelyused. in this field. However, these cartons were so constructedthat-when. the side opening flap was pulled and the closurewall opened,the bottom flaps were moved out of engagement and the. carton, became.partially unfolded. and. unfit for further use.

. One object, of, the present invention is toprovide an mpr ved cartonof the general character described, but so construeted asv to be keptsubstantially intact when opened for partial removal of the contents,and thus,

kept incondition for being reclosed for further preservation of theremaining contents.

Another object. is to provide a carton having the above "advantages,which is so constructed as to be readily manu factured, convenientlyerected for filling and conveniently opened by the consumer, as'described above.

Another object is to supply a carton of the abovenaturewhich requireslessmaterial per carton than cartons heretofore constructed.

A further object is to afford a carton having the .above advantages in aform capable of being readily manufactured in quantity lots, by knownmachines and at relatively low cost. To these and other ends theinvention resides in certain improvements andcombinations of parts, allas will be hereinafter more fully described, thelnovel' features beingpointed out in the claims at the end of the specification. I

In the drawings:-

This automatic bottom construction has i Fig. 1 is a plan view of thecardboard blank forming the carton;

Fig. 2; is a similar view with bottom flap portions folded' over andglueapplied;

Fig-3 isan edge view; of the-blank'as seen from the right in Fig. 2, butwith the outer wall portions partly folded jover toward glued position.

Fig 4 is a view similar to'Fig; 3, butwith the parts glued together'and'the carton in collapsed condition.

Figs. 5 and 6- are top plan views of the inside of" the carton: inprogressive positions of erection for filling;

Figs. T and; 8 are bottom plan views of the outside of the carton inprogressive-positions of erection for'filling substantiallycorrespondingtoFigs. 5 and 6, respectively;

Fig. 9- is a bottorn plan view of the carton in fully erected position;I

Fig. 101 issa perspective view of the carton showing the. same erected;filledand closed, and- Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the cartonsimilar to Fig. 10, but showing the carton after being opened forremoval" oli a portionof the contents.

2,804,256 Patented Aug. 27, 1957 The preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, herein disclosed by way of illustration, is preferably madeof a one-piece cardboard blank such as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings,cut and scored to form front, side, rear and closure walls 20, 22, 24and 26, respectively, separated by parallel scored fold lines 28, 30 and32, as shown. Closure wall 26 carries a securing strip 34 adapted to be.detachably glued to the free edge portion of the opposite or front wall20 when the walls are folded over, as hereafter described. A line ofweakening, such as perforations 38 extends from the lower front cornerof closure wall 26 upwardly toward 'fold line 32 which'separatesclosure. waH 26 from rear wall- 24, for a purpose hereafter described.

Front wall 20 has a slit 40 extending inwardly from its free edge asshown in Fig. 1. A member or finger shown generally at 42 is foldablyconnected by fold line 44 to the upper or free edge of front wall 20adjacent slit 40 for a purpose hereafter described. Front wall 20 hasits outer surface cut or otherwise scored along a series of parallellines of weakness 45 to produce a weakened surface area 46 forpreventing peeling of front wall 20 when the carton is open as hereafterdescribed.

. Walls 20, 22, 24 and 26 are provided with top closure flaps 48, 50, 52and 54, respectively, which are foldably connected therewith along ascore line 56. Flap 48 is formed with a slit 58 to receive. a tongue orhook 60- on flap 52 for securing these top flaps in position for closingthe top of the carton. The carton is filled throughthe top after whichthe top. flaps are folded over closing the carton.

Front and rear walls 20 and 24 carry bottom closure flaps 62 and 64foldably connected therewith along a score line 66. These flaps areprovided with score lines 68 and 70, respectively, extending diagonallyacross and separating each of them into two portions as at 72 and 74, sothat each may be folded on itself and folded over the side wall to whichit is connected, as further described hereafter.

The outer free edges of flaps 62 and. 64 have the irregular shape shownin the drawings, including notches 76 and 78, respectively, forengagement with each other in the erected position of the carton. Bottomflap 62 has a small outwardly projecting part orportion 80,-havinga.purpose to be-hereafter more fully described. Side wall22'has asubstantially rectangular inner bottom flap 82 foldably connectedtherewith along line 66, between flaps 62 and 64. Closure wall 26 has aninner'bottom flap 86 foldably connected therewith along line 66.

In the folding and gluing of the blank as shown in'Fig'. 2, bottom flap62 is folded on itself and folded inwardly over: the front wall 20 asshown. Flap 82. is folded over side wall 22. Flap 64 is folded on itselfand folded inwar'dly over rear wall 22 and flap 86 is folded overclosure. wall 26, as shown. Finger 42 is folded-on itself about a foldline 88 which is essentiallyparallel with fold line 66 and atsubstantially right angles to fold line 44, and which divides finger 42into an outer portiong90'and an inner portion 92, as shown in- Fig. 1.In this position of the parts, glue is applied to a restricted area 94of flap 62, to a similar restricted area 96 of flap 64 and to arestricted area98 on outer portion 90 of finger 42. Glue is likewiseapplied in a narrow band. 100 on securing strip 3'4 adjacent its line offold leaving. anunglued outer portion 102to provide a free pull tabwhich is preferably extended as at 104, Fig. 2.

In the further folding and gluing of the blank, the closure'wall 26 withits inwardly folded flap 86 is folded over 'rear wall 24 and itsinwardly folded bottomflap 64-, as shown in Fig. 3. At the same timefront wall 20 and itsinwardly folded'fl'ap 62 is folded down over sidewal-l'22 and' its inwardly folded flap 82'. During this lat- "of theflaps towards erected position.

ter operation finger 42 which is folded upon itself as shown in Fig. 2,is directed and guided to enter between closure wall 26 and its bottomflap 86, with the result that the outer portion 90 of finger 42 is gluedto the inside of bottom flap 86, as can be best seen in Fig. 5. Securingstrip 34 is simultaneously pressed down over and glued to the weakenedarea 46 of front wall 20 thus completing the folding and gluing of thecarton, in the compact, collapsed condition shown in Fig. 4, ready forstorage and shipment to the ice cream dispensers.

When it is desired to erect the carton for filling, this is quicklyaccomplished by inward pressure against the opposite edges, which servesto separate and distend the side walls in the progressive manner shownin Figs. 5 and 6 as viewed through the open top of the container, and inviews 7 and 8 as viewed from the bottom of the container. The separationof front wall 20 from side wall 22 tends to pull the inwardly foldedflap 62 and the inner bottom flap 82 to erected position, while theseparation of closure wall 26 and rear wall 24 pulls inwardly foldedflap 64 and inner bottom flap 86 to erected position. Projection 80 onthe inner portion of flap 62 guides flap 62 over the outer surface offlap 86, as best shown in Fig. 7, thereby initiating the proper movementAs the carton continues towards erected position, the inner portion offlap 62 rides along the outer surface of flap 86 and passes beneath theouter portion of opposite flap 64, as can be seen in Fig. 8. Similarlythe inner portion of flap 64 passes beneath the outer portion of flap62, and along the outer surface of flap 82, also as shown in Fig. 8. Asa result, the opposing edges of flaps 62 and 64 slide along the outersurfaces of the opposite inner bottom flaps until flaps 62 and 64 comeinto interengagement as shown in Fig. 9, with notches 76 and 78interengaging, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Such engagement of thenotches tends to limit the erecting movement of flaps 62 and 64 withthese flaps in a position normal to the Walls of the carton. Theerecting movement of the flaps is further limited by the engagement ofinner bottom flap 82 with the inside of flaps 62 and 64 along the bottomcorners of the carton.

Flaps 62 and 82, and flaps 64 and 86, when secured together as above,form two interengaging bottom closure sections, each comprising an innerand outer bottom 'fiap. The bottom closure sections are quickly snappedto their erected positions by merely pressing on the opposite corners ofthe carton 106 and 108 (Fig. 4), leaving the top closure flaps in openposition to receive the contents. The carton, resting on its bottom, isthen filled and the top closed by folding flaps 50 and 54 down acrossthe filling opening, after which flap 48 is folded down followed by flap52, the tongue of which is engaged in slit 58 of flap 48 to secure theclosure of the top or filling opening. It will be noted that tongue 60is on the flap of the rear wall to which the closure wall is attached,and is pointed in the direction of the closure ;wall so that an openingpull of the latter serves to keep the tongues engaged in slit 58 and tomaintain that end of the carton closed. The carton is now in thecondition shown in Fig. 10 and is ready for delivery to the consumer.

To open the carton, it is only necessary to grasp and pull the ungluedfree edge 102 or extension 104 of securing strip 3'4. For this purpose,tab or extension 104 may be readily bent relative to securing strip 34along a diagonal fold line 110. The opening of closure wall 26 is madeeasier by the provision of weakened area 46 on the upper free edge offront wall 20. This weakened area which is defined by slits 45 and cut40, not only makes it easier to break the detachable connection betweensecuring flap 34 and front wall 20, but it also prevents undesiredsurface peeling of either the front wall or securing strip. Afterclosure wall 26 is open, it is torn along the line of perforations 38 toits position shown in Fig. 11. This tearing action leaves a flange 112,Fig. 11, extending from the rear wall of the carton across the closurewall toward the lower front corner thereof. The line of perforations 38preferably extends diagonally across the closure wall starting at thelower front corners of the closure wall and extending upwardly towardsthe rear edge of the closure wall. When the carton is in its openposition as shown in Fig. 11, finger 42 which is connected to the frontwall and glued to the bottom flap 86, connected to the closure wall,maintains a connection between the front and rear walls 20 and 26,respectively, and holds them in erected position, as shown in Fig. 11,and at the same time holds the bottom flaps in engagement, therebypreventing the bottom closure from separating as the carton is opened.

At the top end of the carton, top flap 54, which does not come intocontact with the contents of the carton, is readily raised along withthe opening movement of closure wall 26. When closure wall 26 is opened,tongue 60 on flap 52 is drawn more tightly into engagement with slot 58on the opposite top flap 48 so that the remaining top closure flaps aremaintained in closed position and the carton is maintained in shapewhile as much of the contents as desired is dipped out.

The carton may be readily reclosed for replacing under refrigeration topreserve the residue of the contents for further consumption. This isdone by merely guiding flap 54 into position outside of top flap 50 andswinging closure wall 26 downwardly while guiding its securing strip 34inside the top edge of front wall 20. One end of the securing strip isinserted through slit 40 in the front wall so as to extend on theoutside of the front wall and thus out of contact with the cartoncontents. This effectively closes the carton while preserving a cleanportion of the cover which may be grasped to reopen the carton withoutsoiling the fingers.

Thus it will be seen from the above description that my inventionprovides a carton which may be readily and economically manufacturedwith the usual materials and by known methods and standard machines, incompact collapsed condition for storage or shipment to food dispensers.The latter may erect the carton by merely pressing on its oppositecorners to erect its automatic bottom. Thereafter, the carton may beeasily filled at the top and closed in the usual manner until ready fordelivery to the consumer. The consumer can easily open the carton toremove a portion of its contents by pulling on pull tab 34 so as toraise the closure Wall to open position in which the contents areexposed for dipping out to the extent desired. Thereafter, the cartonmay be readily closed to preserve the remaining contents by closing andsecuring the closure wall, as described, a portion of the pull tab beingconveniently disposed on the outside of the front wall to provide meansfor further opening the cover without soiling the fingers.

In addition, it will be seen that the invention com- .bines a cartonhaving the above advantages which may its objects and while it has beenherein disclosed by reference to the details of a preferred embodiment,it is to be understood that such disclosure is intended in anillustrative, rather than a limiting sense, as it is contemplated thatvarious modifications in the construction and arrangement of the partswill readily occur to those skilled in the art, within the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claims.

'I claim:

1. A collapsible carton having a self erecting bottom comprising aone-piece, blank cut, scored and folded to form foldably connectedfront, rear, side and closure walls, a detachable connection betweensaid closure wall and free edge of said front wall, top and bottomclosure flaps'foldably connected to said walls at the opposite endsthereof, said bottom flaps being arranged in pairs of opposed inner andouter flaps, each of said outer flaps being secured to the adjacentinner flap and forming the bottom of the carton in sections, saidsections being located on opposite sides of a hinge connection betweenadjacent side walls and on opposite sides of said detachable connection,each of said outer flaps being formed with a fold line and beingfoldable inwardly about said fold line together with the respective oneof said inner flaps upon relative lateral shifting of said side walls tocollapsed position, said bottom closure flaps being moved to erectedclosed position normal to said walls by crecting movement of said walls,and a finger foldably connected with said front wall, said finger havinga fold line extending thereacross at substantially right angles to theline of connection of said finger with said front wall for dividing saidfinger into inner and outer portions, said outer portion being securedto the inner surface of the bottom flap connected to said closure wall,said closure wall having a line of perforations extending thereacrossadjacent the bottom of the carton, said closure wall being detachablefrom said front wall and separable along said line of perforations formovement to open position with said finger connecting said front andrear walls for maintaining the same in erected position.

2. A carton as specified in claim 1 in which said line of perforationsextend from the bottom of said closure wall adjacent the front edgethereof upwardly across said closure wall to the line of connectionbetween said closure wall and said rear wall.

3. A collapsible carton having a self-erecting bottom comprising a blankcut, scored and folded to form foldably connected side walls and aclosure wall, a detachable connection between said closure wall and theopposite side wall for securing said closure wall in closed position,said walls having top and bottom closure flaps foldably connectedthereto at the opposite ends thereof, said bottom flaps being arrangedin pairs of opposed inner and outer flaps, each of said outer flapsbeing secured to the adjacent inner flap for forming the bottom of thecarton in sections, each of said outer flaps being formed with a foldline and adapted to fold inwardly at said fold line between said wallstogether with the respective inner flap when said walls are collapsed,said bottom closure flaps being moved to erected closed position normalto said walls by erecting movement of said walls, and a member connectedat one end to said opposite side wall and at the other end to the innersurface of the bottom flap connected to said closure wall for holdingsaid side walls erect when said carton is opened, said closure wallbeing detachable from said opposite side wall and separable from thebottom flap connected with said closure wall for movement to openposition to expose the carton contents with the carton in erectedposition.

4. A collapsible carton having a self-erecting bottom comprising a blankcut, scored and folded to form foldably connected side walls and aclosure wall, a detachable connection between said closure wall and theopposite side wall for securing said closure wall in closed position,said walls having top and bottom closure flaps foldably connectedthereto at the opposite ends thereof, said bottom flaps being arrangedin pairs of opposed inner and outer flaps, each of said outer flapsbeing secured to the adjacent inner flap for forming the bottom of thecarton in sections, each of said outer flaps being formed with a foldline and adapted'to fold inwardly at said fold line between said wallstogether with the respective inner flap when said walls are collapsed,said bottom closure flaps being moved to erected closed position normalto said 6 walls and into frictional interengagement by the erectingmovement of said walls for holding the bottom of said carton in erectedposition, locking means on two of said top closure flaps for releasablylocking said top closure flaps in closed position in the erectedposition of the carton, and a member connected at one end to saidopposite side wall and at the other end to the inner surface of thebottom flap connected to said closure wall for holding said side wallserect when said carton is opened, said closure wall being detachablefrom said opposite side wall and separable from the bottom flapconnected with said closure wall for movement to open position to exposethe carton contents with the carton in erected position.

5. A collapsible carton having a self-erecting bottom comprising a blankcut, scored and folded to form foldably connected side walls and aclosure wall, a detachable connection between said closure wall and theopposite side wall for securing said closure wall in closed position,said walls having top and bottom closure flaps foldably connectedthereto at the opposite ends thereof, said bottom flaps being arrangedin pairs of opposed inner and outer flaps, each of said outer flapsbeing secured to the adjacent inner 'flap for forming the bottom of thecarton in sections, each of said outer flaps being formed with a foldline and adapted to fold inwardly at said fold line between said wallstogether with the respective inner flap when said walls are collapsed,said bottom closure flaps being moved to erected closed position normalto said walls and into frictional interengagement by the erectingmovement of said walls for holding the bottom of said carton in erectedposition, locking means on two of said top closure flaps for releasablylocking said top closure flaps in closed position in the erectedposition of the carton, and a member connected at one end to saidopposite side wall and at the other end to the inner surface of thebottom flap connected to said closure Wall for holding said side wallserect when said carton is opened, said closure wall having a line ofweakening extending thereacross adjacent the bottom of the carton, saidclosure wall being detachable from said opposite side wall and separablealong said line of weakening from the bottom flap connected to saidclosure wall for movement to open position to expose the carton contentswith the carton in erected position.

6. A collapsible carton having a self-erecting bottom comprising a blankcut, scored and folded to form foldably connected side walls and aclosure wall, a detachable connection between said closure wall and theopposite side wall for securing said closure wall in closed position,said walls having top and bottom closure flaps foldably connectedthereto at the opposite ends thereof, said bottom flaps being arrangedin pairs of opposed inner and outer flaps, each of said outer flapsbeing secured to the adjacent inner flap for forming the bottom of thecarton in sections, each of said outer flaps being formed with a foldline and adapted to fold inwardly at said fold line between said wallstogether with the respective inner flap when said walls are collapsed,said bottom closure flaps being moved to erected closed position normalto said walls by erecting movement of said walls, and a member connectedat one end to said opposite side wall and the other end to the innersurface of the bottom flap connected to said closure wall for holdingsaid side walls erect when said carton is opened, said closure wallhaving a line of weakening extending thereacross adjacent the bottom ofthe carton, said closure wall being detachable from said opposite sidewall and separable along said line of weakening from the bottom flapconnected with said closure wall for movement to open position to expose the carton contents with the carton in erected position.

7. A collapsible carton having a self-erecting bottom construction asspecified in claim 6 in which said line of weakening comprises a line ofperforations.

8. A collapsible carton having a self-erecting bottom construction asspecified in claim 6 in which said line of weakening comprises a line ofperforations extending from the bottom front corner of the closure wallalong -the line of connection between said closure wall and the bottomflap connected therewith and thence upwardly across said closure wall tothe rear edge thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS RafothAug. 30, 1955

